NGE: Mirror, Mirror
by Ravenheart
Summary: Ok, the new chapter is just a preview of part of Chapter 4 so everyone will know that this fic is not dead, I just haven't had much time to work on it.
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer: I owneth not Evangelion nor any characters, scenes, locations or hardware contained herein.  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Mirror, Mirror  
  
It was sunny. Any middle-school student would've considered this a perfect day to play hooky. Adults would've found it hard to resist taking their work to the park to take advantage of the terrific weather outside. All if there wasn't an Angel attacking at that very moment.  
  
It had just suddenly appeared over the city and began to hover around, seemingly oblivious to the chaos it created beneath it. The citizens of Tokyo-3 had been used to being told to evacuate to the shelters BEFORE Angels arrived, so for most this was the first time they had ever seen one. And, as frightened people do.they ran.they ran anywhere they could that seemed to not be in the path of the Angel.  
  
A couple of hours passed before the Pilots arrived and were inserted into their respective Eva's and the streets were cleared of bystanders.  
  
Unit-01 was leaning against an armament building for cover as the Angel floated by. After it passed, Shinji willed his unit to move to the next building, getting closer to the Angel with each successive move.  
  
"Ayanami, Asuka, are you in position yet?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
A moment later, certain annoyed German responded:  
  
"You know an Eva can't move that fast!"  
  
As she tried to move her Eva forward to its next position, it lurched backward as the cable plugged into its back went taut and prevented it from moving any further. After attaching a new cable from a nearby outlet, she continues her advance to her support position.  
  
Inside Shinji's plug, he was growing impatient with waiting for his comrades to arrive. Shinji's hand had started to clench and relax by his side even without him realizing it.  
  
"Not there yet?"  
  
When there was no answer over the comm, he decided to take matters into his own hands. In one swift movement, Eva-01 pivoted around the building it was using for cover and let loose 3 lightning fast rounds from its service pistol.  
  
As the rounds sped toward the Angel, the entire command center watched, expecting to see the shells bounce harmlessly off of the barrier projected by both Eva and Angel alike, the AT Field. However, an instant before the rounds would've impacted against the Angel's flesh, the whole of its body disappeared into nothingness which the bus-sized bullets passed through the space previously occupied by the Angel giving no indication of hitting anything.  
  
"BLUE PATTERN CONFIRMED BENEATH UNIT-01!!!"  
  
By the time Shinji managed to bring his sight down to see the Angel's shadow spread out below his Eva, it was too late. The massive Evangelion began to sink into that inky black void as if stuck in quicksand.  
  
Asuka was already racing towards the scene, but even she wasn't fast enough. Rei was unloading more rounds from her sniper rifle at the zebra- striped Angel, but it just kept disappearing just before the rounds made contact.  
  
Abandoning the rifle, Rei also raced toward Shinji's position.  
  
After his waist had sunk below the surface, he began trying to climb up the smooth wall of the building he had been hiding behind a few moments ago.  
  
Rei was the first to arrive thanks to her position being closer to Shinji's than Asuka's was. She grabbed hold of one of Unit-01's hands as it continued to sink up to it's shoulders. She willed her Eva to pull on that hand until Unit-01 was free, but it just kept sinking.  
  
Asuka was still getting up after having been jerked to a sudden stop when her power cable ran out a second time when the shadow suddenly expanded in her direction. Unit-02 jumped up onto one of the nearby buildings to escape the black death that had expanded beneath her, but soon that building and those surrounding it began to sink as well.  
  
Rei continued to pull on the purple Evangelion's arm, even as the arm was seemingly pulling her in as well. Just as Unit-01's hand was about to disappear into the black void, she tried to let go of the hand, but it would not let go of hers. Shortly after that, the hand pulled hard on her arm and sent her off balance and into the void as well.  
  
---------------------------------------------  
  
Shinji felt cold. That was nothing new, he had been feeling cold for a while now, ever since he turned down the heating systems to buy himself an extra few hours of life-support. However, there was something new here, it was brighter on the other side of his eyelids, and he no longer felt like he had to try harder to breathe. When he opened his eyes, that same ceiling which he had become so accustomed to over the last few months greeted him just like it had every other time he had awoken here.  
  
Seeing no one else in the room, Shinji turned back to the familiar ceiling, tried to relax and tried to remember when he got out of the Eva. Drawing a complete blank, he turned his mind to the last thing he remembered.  
  
He willed his Eva to fire at the Angel. It complied and loosed three rounds in the Angel's direction. The next thing he knew, the Angel had somehow slipped underneath him and he was beginning to sink into that black void.  
  
He tried desperately to get away from whatever it was that was pulling him deeper into that void, but no matter what he did, he kept sinking. The last thing he remembered was losing all contact with Misato, Asuka, Rei, and the rest of NERV as Unit-01's head and horn slowly slipped beneath the "surface" of that inky blackness.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----  
  
Shinji was startled from his thoughts by the hissing of the door as it opened to allow someone entry. As he turned to see who it was, he was startled to see that it was the one person he would never have imagined would visit him like this. 'Father'. His father's face betrayed no emotion, as usual, so Shinji could not discern his thoughts or motives.  
  
As Gendo walked into the room, the door shut behind him, silencing the noise of the rest of the busy hospital. A moment after the door shut, Gendo's face changed in such a way that it didn't seem impossibly cold. It seemed. almost. caring. relieved... loving?  
  
'No, it's not possible. He doesn't care about me. he'd never look at me like that.'  
  
Shinji's thoughts were interrupted as Gendo sat down on the bed next to Shinji and put a hand on the boy's shoulder and spoke:  
  
"I'm glad to see you're alright."  
  
While most of Shinji's being was feeling distrust toward the man currently sitting next to him, the part of him that had wanted to hear words like those from his father won out. Shinji quickly sat up and hugged the nearly- stoic man with all his strength. After hugging his father, he simply smiled at him.  
  
Gendo returned the smile with a slight one of his own, then got up and walked to the door: "There's someone outside who is very eager to see you."  
  
"Who?"  
  
As if in response, Gendo opened the door and stepped out slightly to let someone else inside.  
  
In just moments, Asuka stormed in and began berating Shinji about how stupid it was for him to go and attack the Angel without orders.  
  
'At least SHE's acting normally.' thought Shinji as Asuka leaned right up in his face yelling at him about his stupidity.  
  
However, once the door closed, she was on him in a moment, pinning him to his hospital bed with what Shinji noted was a rather passionate kiss.  
  
If his father actually CARING about him hadn't pushed him over the edge already, that kiss most certainly did. By the time Asuka broke the kiss, Shinji was again unconscious.  
  
'I've never had that effect on him before.' thought Asuka as she took a seat next to the bed and waited for her Shinji to regain the consciousness that her kiss had apparently stolen.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Three rooms down, and across the hall, another young teen was just waking up. She opened her eyes and saw a familiar, white tiled ceiling above her. 'I am in the hospital.' The azure haired girl looked about at her surroundings. It was indeed a hospital room, but it was not an intensive- care ward as she had expected it to be.  
  
Moments later, the door opened to reveal Gendo in much the same way as he had entered Shinji's room. The same caring features, concerned eyes, and relaxed gait. Rei was not at all unused to this, so she thought nothing of it. In fact, she even gave the man a small smile as he sat down on her bed.  
  
"How are you feeling, Rei?"  
  
"I am unharmed. I can return to duty."  
  
Gendo chuckled at Rei's brief and concise self-evaluation.  
  
"You know Rei, you don't have to act as though you're in the military."  
  
This particular statement struck Rei as odd. Never had Gendo Ikari said that she should express her emotions: 'It is a waste of time and will ultimately make you vulnerable to others.'  
  
"Anyway, I'm glad you and Shinji are safe. The doctors want to keep you two here for another 24 hours, but I can have them release you now if you want."  
  
Again, something else he would not have said. He had never before shown any interest in the welfare of Ikari-kun. Rei watched Gendo with a slightly puzzled expression (one only those who knew her best would recognize).  
  
After a few moments, Rei answered: "That would be acceptable."  
  
"Good, go ahead and get dressed. Your clothes are on the chair next to your bed. I'll go tell Shinji that we're going home while you're changing."  
  
With that, Gendo walked back out of the room.  
  
Rei just sat there staring at the door for a moment thinking about one part of his last words to her. 'we're going home' . 'We do not live together. Unless Ikari-kun's and my own living quarters have been reassigned in our absence."  
  
Choosing to ignore the matter for the time being, Rei turned to look at the clothing on the chair next to her bed. A neatly folded white sundress was laying there on top of a set of plain white underwear. Next to the chair rested a pair of blue casual shoes and a pair of slippers.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Back in Shinji's room, he had finally regained consciousness and had been chatting with Asuka about what he could remember about being inside the Angel and what had been happening outside. While Asuka was describing the events, Shinji sat there listening and wondering if this was all some sort of joke on her part. 'That couldn't have happened. Father doesn't act that way. (etc. etc. etc.)' Shortly after he had finished relating how little he could actually remember, Misato and Kaji walked into the room. Misato walked up behind Asuka and put her right hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I'd hate to break up this cozy scene, but we've got to go Asuka."  
  
Asuka turned to look at the older woman and nodded. Turning back to Shinji, she sighed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later." With that, she got up and walked out the door.  
  
"Wait a minute, I feel fine. Why am I staying here?" Shinji asked as Asuka turned to leave.  
  
Misato stopped in her tracks and turned to face Shinji. "Well, now that I think about it, I did see your father signing some release forms a moment ago, so I'd assume that you're going home later."  
  
"Well, why don't you guys stay until then and we can go home together."  
  
"ANTA BAKA??? You know we live on different sides of the city! How are we supposed to go home together if we're going in opposite directions?"  
  
Before Shinji could answer that question, Gendo walked into the room to collect Shinji. "Come on Shinji, we're going home so put on your clothes and let's go." As if on cue, Rei walks into the room as well. "See, your sister is all ready to go. We're just waiting on you." With a smirk, he throws a duffel bag containing Shinji's clothes onto the bed and leaves. Before the door closes he calls back to his son: "We'll be waiting out here in the hall when you're done."  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Well, there's Chapter 1. To those of you who are saying it's a parallel universe. DUH!!! That much is OBVIOUS. What I want to see is if anyone can figure out WHICH universe this is. (Hint: look at the title) Also, this story has no relation WHATSOEVER to the stories 'Differences', ' ' , or ' .' So don't be telling me how similar it is to those stories. I have something very specific in mind here and therefore it will NOT be evolving along the same lines as those stories. 


	2. Homecomming

Disclaimer: See chapter 1  
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Mirror Mirror  
  
Chapter 2: Homecoming  
  
The drive to the house wasn't a long one. Shortly after meeting his father and Rei outside   
  
of his hospital room, the three of them had proceeded to Gendo's car. It was a very well-  
  
maintained green 2003 Neon. Not exactly the newest thing on the market, or the flashiest   
  
thing on the streets, but it got things done. When they arrived, they were greeted by an   
  
austere grey two-story home with burgundy faux shutters.  
  
On entering the house through the side door, they were in the kitchen. Nothing fancy, just   
  
a stove, sink, countertop, and refrigerator, along with ample cupboard space. Beyond that,   
  
were a small kitchen table for family dinners and a longer, more ornate table for   
  
entertaining behind a separating wall.  
  
"So, you two hungry?"  
  
The question forced both teens back to reality after taking in their surroundings.  
  
"Um, not... really..." Shinji stuttered, "I think I might just go to bed tonight."  
  
"You're sure Shinji? It's not like you to skip a meal..."  
  
"Um, yeah... I'm just not too hungry right now. Besides, I getting tired anyway."  
  
"Well, if I can't change your mind, then good night."  
  
"Yeah, you too..."  
  
Shinji walks out of the kitchen and walks up the stairs just across the main foyer of the   
  
house to the second floor. Ahead of him is a single bathroom, two doors on the left, and   
  
one on the right. The first door on the right is labeled 'Shinji's Room' Feeling a slight   
  
weight removed from his chest, Shinji opens his door, enters the room, and closes the   
  
door behind him.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
While Shinji goes upstairs to sleep, Gendo goes to the kitchen to begin dinner, and Rei   
  
walks into the living room and sits in one of the three reclining chairs set on one side of   
  
the room. Having nothing better to do, she leans her head back against the chair and starts   
  
to meditate. 'I have never been to this place before, yet Ikari is acting as though I have   
  
lived here all my life. This is not my home, but everyone appears to think otherwise.   
  
What is going on here?'  
  
Rei is broken out of her thoughts as the sounds of a football game erupt from the   
  
television set a few yards in front of her.  
  
"Oh, sorry Rei, I didn't realize you were trying to sleep."  
  
"I was not." Turning her attention away from Ikari, Rei watched the activities of the   
  
players on the screen in front of her. "What is this sport?"  
  
Ikari just stared blanky at his daughter until he burst out laughing… "For a minute there I   
  
almost thought you had seriously forgotten what football is..."  
  
Deciding to not contradict Gendo, Rei just watched the 'football' game for a few minutes.   
  
It took Rei a little while to understand the concept of the game, but she eventually   
  
managed to gain a basic understanding of the rules and object of the game, despite   
  
several occasions of Ikari either cheering for one team or berating the officials on the   
  
screen...  
  
"Dammit!! Are You COMPLETELY BLIND!?!? There's NO WAY he was in   
  
bounds!!!"  
  
"What is the point of yelling at the officials when it is impossible for them to hear you?"  
  
Calming slightly before speaking to Rei, Gendo turns to look at her. "The point is to let   
  
your frustrations loose before they have the chance to consume you. Besides, it may   
  
actually help..."  
  
Rei simply cocked an eyebrow at Gendo before turning back to the TV. A few moments   
  
later, one of the coaches on the screen threw a red flag onto the field and the announcer   
  
stated that a challenge had been called.  
  
"THANK YOU!!! It's about time!!"  
  
Rei was watching the 'review' process when she smelled smoke coming from the   
  
kitchen. "Fire."  
  
"What are you talking about Rei, there's no fire on the... Oh, CRUD!!"  
  
Gendo leapt from his seat and ran into the kitchen where a saucepan was filled with   
  
smoking chicken. He immediately lifted the pan off the heater and covered it with its lid   
  
to suffocate the flames. Needless to say, the chicken didn't look very appetizing   
  
afterwards.  
  
"Looks like we're gonna have to call out for food tonight."  
  
"I dislike meat."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Rei, I fixed this for your brother and myself. Your dinner is just fine."  
  
"I see. Is it ready?"  
  
"I suppose, you hungry?"  
  
"I am."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Upstairs, Shinji was looking around his room for anything familiar. The only thing he   
  
could find was his S-DAT player, but his normal tapes were nowhere to be found. Giving   
  
up on the tapes for now, Shinji set about exploring the rest of the unfamiliar objects in his   
  
room. There were posters of women in bikinis and wet tank-tops up on the walls and   
  
several pictures of Touji, Kensuke and himself on his desk along with an open laptop   
  
computer.   
  
On the small nightstand, there were pictures of Asuka by herself, portraits of her, and a   
  
few of himself with her. Well... mostly of her putting him in a headlock while smiling at   
  
the camera. Also on the nightstand was a cordless phone and cradle. Opening the drawer   
  
in the nightstand, he discovered a rather thin, leather-bound book with his name inscribed   
  
in gold leaf on the front cover.  
  
Opening the book, he saw that several of the entries were dated... and that the earlier ones   
  
showed a drastic improvement in the kanji formation as they went on... like they were   
  
written while he was still learning how... The dates in the book appeared to be rather far   
  
apart until just recently. About three months before the last entry, they became more   
  
frequent and detailed, like he was developing greater interest in documenting his life.  
  
Setting the journal back in the drawer and looking over the rest of the room, Shinji's   
  
glance fell across a calendar with a single day circled in red. On closer inspection, the   
  
kanji written in that square showed that it was supposed to be a date with Asuka but   
  
nothing else.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
After dinner, Rei decided to go to bed just as Shinji had earlier. She also went upstairs to   
  
find her room. She turned left at the top of the steps and walked over to the door at the   
  
end of the short railing strategically placed to keep people from falling over the edge and   
  
down the stairs. Opening the door, She was greeted by a pleasantly sky blue room w/ a   
  
window overlooking the front yard and street beyond.  
  
The room smelled of perfumes and books. Indeed, it was not long before Rei's crimson   
  
eyes passed over the shelves upon shelves of books. Some were thin, unassuming things   
  
that appeared to be fairly easy reads, but others were thick. The thick volumes included   
  
several books on physics and mathematics, a current encyclopedia, and several other   
  
knowledgeable texts.   
  
On the same side of the room was a wooden desk with a laptop computer sitting open on   
  
its surface. Also on the desk were several pictures of herself, Shinji and Gendo. Most of   
  
which appeared to be of very enjoyable events such as birthdays, trips and some surprise   
  
photos (the last of which presumably taken by her.). Amongst these photos were also a   
  
few of a person she knew and another person she did not. There were a few pictures of   
  
Kensuke Aida, apparently without his knowledge, and a few others of a brown-haired   
  
woman smiling and holding a smiling child in her arms... a child with red eyes.  
  
Slowly, on closer examination of the woman's features, Rei's mind began to put the   
  
pieces of the scattered memories in her mind together to form a name for this woman...   
  
Yui Ikari... Shinji's mother.   
  
'How could she be holding a younger version of myself? She was lost long before I was   
  
created. What is this place?'   
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Gendo was watching TV in the den when the phone started to ring. He stood up from his   
  
recliner, walked over to the phone, and took it from its cradle.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"I've found something about Unit-00 you need to see."  
  
"Dr. Akagi? What about Unit-00?"  
  
"I believe it would be safer to discuss this matter face to face sir."  
  
"Is it urgent?"  
  
"Not presently."  
  
"Then we'll discuss it in the morning. Report to my office at 10:00 hours tomorrow."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
And after a short electronic click, the conversation was over. However, just after Gendo   
  
placed the phone back in its cradle, it rang again.  
  
  
  
"Yes, Ikari residence... Gendo speaking..."  
  
"Commander? Um… is Shinji there?"  
  
"Who's calling?"   
  
"You can't tell? This is Asuka!"  
  
"Oh, well I think Shinji is asleep, but I'll go see if he's still up."  
  
Gendo put the phone down on the kitchen counter-top and went upstairs to see if Shinji   
  
was awake. He opened his son's door and sure enough, Shinji was lying on his bed, wide   
  
awake, and staring at the ceiling.   
  
"Shinji, phone call..."  
  
A little groggily, Shinji started feeling around on his nightstand for the phone he saw   
  
there earlier. Finding it, he fumbled with it briefly before turning it on and bringing up to   
  
his ear.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
"Hey there sleepyhead..."  
  
"Asuka?"  
  
"Who else?"  
  
"I dunno, I just wasn't expecting you to call so late..."  
  
"Yeah, well... I got done with my homework earlier than I thought I would and didn't   
  
have anything else to do... so I gave you a call."  
  
In the background on the other end "Sure you did Asuka… I don't see any of your   
  
school books lying around..."  
  
For the next few minutes, sounds of scuffling and teasing could be heard from the other   
  
end of the line as Asuka apparently tried to push Misato out of her room.  
  
"That woman aggravates me sooo much sometimes... You looking forward to Friday   
  
Shinji?"  
  
"Umm... yeah... Are you?"  
  
"Of course I am!! I always look forward to the dates we go on, but this'll be the first time   
  
you've actually taken me out to dinner. Where are we going anyway?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"I think that new Italian restaurant is supposed to be good... of course 'A Taste of France'   
  
would be sooo romantic…"  
  
Needless to say, Asuka starts listing the restaurants she thinks would be good places for   
  
them to go for dinner. About 3 minutes into the list, one restaurant catches Shinji's   
  
attention…  
  
"Or we can go to..."  
  
"We're going to the last one. It sounds nice..."  
  
Shinji could HEAR Asuka's face light up at his statement. "I was hoping that'd be the   
  
one… they've got a dance floor and everything. AND they'll let us in as long as we don't   
  
order any alcohol."  
  
"Well, it's not like we were planning to anyway…"  
  
"True... anyway, I am sooo looking forward to this! It's been a while since I've had a   
  
decent meal around here that's not take out..."  
  
In response to Asuka's statement, a faint female voice could be heard on the other end of   
  
the line: "What does that mean?! Do you not like my cooking?!?"  
  
"Who would!? You always burn everything you put in the oven or on the stove!!"  
  
"Like you could do better..."  
  
"Darn straight I could do better. Besides, what are you doing listening in on my   
  
conversation..."  
  
The argument on the other end of the line just continued to intensify as matters of   
  
privacy, romance, culinary arts, technology, and oddly enough, even politics were   
  
brought into the argument.   
  
After a few minutes, Asuka broke away from the argument just long enough to say   
  
goodbye to Shinji before hanging up the phone on her end.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
[Morning, Shinji had finished getting ready for school and had begun preparing that   
  
morning's breakfast]  
  
It took Shinji a while to figure out where everything was stored in the many cabinets in   
  
this kitchen, but he did eventually find all the things he needed to make breakfast for   
  
himself, Rei, and... Father...  
  
As he was waiting for the water to boil for the miso soup, he heard some shuffling in the   
  
foyer and went to see who it was. As he turned the corner between the foyer and the den,   
  
he wasn't very surprised to find Rei putting her shoes on before leaving.  
  
"Um, Rei... do you... um... want something to eat before you leave?"  
  
Rei looked at the younger Ikari, nodded, and began to take her shoes off.  
  
Seeing that she would be joining him for breakfast that morning, Shinji walked back into   
  
the kitchen to continue preparing his fellow pilot's vegetarian breakfast. While he was   
  
busy cooking the several items for Rei's breakfast and his own, Rei quietly walked into   
  
the kitchen and sat down at the modest dinette set without disturbing the young Ikari.   
  
Shortly afterwards, Shinji set a bowl of miso soup along with some rice in front of her.   
  
She thanked him briefly and began to eat at a patient rate. Seeing that she would not be   
  
offering any conversation, Shinji simply went back to work preparing breakfast.  
  
He decided that he'd simply prepare a traditional Japanese meal since he didn't really   
  
know what his father liked to eat.  
  
While Shinji was absorbed in his thoughts like he usually was while cooking, Gendo   
  
walked into the kitchen, not quite looking ready to go into work that morning, but still   
  
more prepared than Misato would usually be.  
  
"Mmm... Smells good Shinji... Reminds me of how your mother used to cook."  
  
When Shinji first heard his father's voice, he stiffened slightly, but he relaxed noticeably   
  
after the compliment... or at least he thought it was a compliment...   
  
Walking into the room, Gendo gives Rei a hug from behind as he passes her. Other than a   
  
slight blush and a short pause in her eating, she hardly reacts at all. Gendo then moves to   
  
where Shinji is preparing breakfast and gives him a quick, but hard pat on the back.   
  
  
  
Once Gendo seated himself, Shinji brought his and his father's breakfasts to the table and   
  
set them down in their appropriate places. After sitting himself, Shinji began to eat his   
  
breakfast, as did Gendo. As they ate their respective meals, no one said a word. For some,   
  
it was from lack of anything to say, for one it was habit, but for the other, it was from   
  
puzzlement about his children's silence.  
  
'They usually discuss what they're going to do today... I wonder why they're so quiet?'  
  
Putting down his spoon after finishing his soup, Gendo asked: "Why are you two so   
  
quiet...fighting again?"  
  
His question was only met with a pair of blank stares, shortly broken as Rei stood from   
  
the table, announcing that they would be late for school if they did not leave soon. Gendo   
  
watched as Rei walked to the foyer, and Shinji began collecting the dirty dishes, and set   
  
them in the sink to be washed later. He then watched as Shinji hurried to meet his sister   
  
in the foyer before she left.  
  
A few moments later came a pair of 'Itekimasu's' before the door closed behind them.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Shinji and Rei were walking down the street together on their way to school when Rei   
  
suddenly spoke up:  
  
"Ikari-kun, do people seem to be acting strangely to you?"  
  
Startled from his thoughts at her sudden question, it took Shinji a moment to respond to   
  
her.  
  
"…Er… well, how do you mean?"  
  
Without stopping or turning to look at the young Ikari, Rei explained her question: "The   
  
commander seems less... composed than normal."  
  
Understanding her meaning, Shinji responded right away: "I noticed that, but isn't the   
  
change a good one?"  
  
"Perhaps, although I do not understand its implications."  
  
Pausing to think more about the things which had changed since they were taken, Shinji   
  
thinks of another very large change in the people around them…  
  
"Hey! Shinji!! Rei!"  
  
Turning to face the direction the voice came from, both saw Asuka running down a cross-  
  
street to catch up with them. As she neared, she slowed down to a jog before she walked   
  
up to Shinji and planted a small kiss on his cheek before looping her arm around his.  
  
Breathing a little heavily from running down the street: "You're early…"  
  
Shinji was still blushing profusely from the kiss and Asuka's proximity while Rei was   
  
indifferent to Asuka's apparent affection for Shinji.  
  
"Um, sorry… I…"  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's okay."  
  
Shinji was taken a bit aback by how easily Asuka just let that go, but decided not to   
  
comment.  
  
After about 10 min of walking in near silence as Asuka hummed a little tune to herself,   
  
Asuka speaks up:  
  
"Shinji, when do you think we should tell everyone else about us?"  
  
"What do you mean 'us'?"  
  
A bit offended that Shinji would ask a question like that, Asuka has a hard time not   
  
exploding in anger at him… "ANTA BAKA?!?! We've been going out for the past three   
  
MONTHS!!! We can't keep a secret like this forever!"  
  
"WE'VE WHAT!?!?"  
  
To be continued…  
  
Oh...my...god... I can't believe how long it took me to finish this chapter... and I realize   
  
now ho hard it's going to be to write this story... so don't expect more than maybe 3-4   
  
updates per year...  
  
Just so you know, I have a storyline already laid out for this story, it's just filling in all   
  
the little details that's going to take me a while. 


	3. Discoveries

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Evangelion  
  
Thanks go to my pre-readers Dennisud and Deacon Joe  
  
Chapter 3: Discoveries  
  
Gendo walked in through the main gates of NERV that morning like he had every morning for the past 10 years. He had come very close to losing his son and daughter yesterday and now Ritsuko said there was something wrong with Unit-00. The reason this bothered him so was the fact that she felt he needed to know about it right away.  
  
He walked through the halls of NERV Headquarters, nodding a brief hello to the workers who passed him on his way to his office. As he approached the door to his office, the men outside it in black suits stiffened slightly. When he was but a step from walking into the door, it whooshed open and he walked inside, the door closing behind him. Inside, he was greeted by several scanned images of religious texts in their original arcane script. The images were being projected into space just before the walls, and were nearly as tall as he.  
  
Walking over to one in particular, he began scanning lines of script, until he found one passage in particular:  
  
"And the champion shall defeat the Twelfth, the sky shall rain blood, and the Beast within the champion shall reveal itself. The Beast shall stand in the sight of the Almighty, in the blood of the Twelfth, victorious."  
  
Pondering the meaning of the text versus recent events, Gendo walked over to his desk and sat, hands before his face.  
  
Shortly after sitting down, his desk beeped, announcing a visitor on the other side of his office door. Turning off the projections, he opened the door remotely, allowing Dr. Akagi entry.  
  
"Doctor, you have something to report on the status of Unit-00?"  
  
Dr. Akagi walked forward past the inscription of the Sephirothic System in the floor, and right up to Gendo's desk before beginning: "The special control systems we installed 2 months ago have disappeared."  
  
"Explain."  
  
"I can't at this time. We're still running scans to determine where they went, but from what readings we've gotten so far, it's as though the systems never existed in the first place."  
  
"Is Unit-00 safe to use?"  
  
"Normally, I would say no, but..."  
  
"But, what Doctor?"  
  
"It would seem that the overall design of the Unit is slightly different from what we have stored in the Magi. I can't begin to theorize on what effect those changes might have on the Unit's operation."  
  
"Very well. Continue your analysis until you have reached a definite conclusion."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Shinji sat at his desk that morning wondering how he had messed up so badly. After trying to cover up after freaking out when he was told that Asuka and he were going out, he had tried to explain that he just hadn't thought that it had been that long. Asuka had simply stormed off ahead of him without looking back. With Asuka almost breaking into a run in front of them, Shinji and Rei had had some time to talk more about what was happening to the world around them.  
  
------------- Flashback -------------  
  
"The Asuka I know would never have been acting like this."  
  
"Commander Ikari and Major Katsuragi have not been acting normally either."  
  
"How many people do you think have changed?"  
  
"Possibly... everyone, except us."  
  
"But wouldn't it make more sense that only we changed?"  
  
"Explain."  
  
"Well... What if the Angel did something to our minds? Like giving us false memories maybe... How would we know that this is the way things have always been?"  
  
"That is possible."  
  
"So what can we do about it?"  
  
"I do not believe there is anything we can do."  
  
-------------End Flashback-------------  
  
When Shinji finally caught up to Asuka at the school, she hardly recognized his existence except to tell him to 'Buzz off.'  
  
Lunch time arrived and the students all either got up to get their lunches from the cafeteria, walked out the door with their friends, lunches in hand, or just stayed in the classroom sleeping or talking and eating with friends.  
  
Rei would usually just stay in the classroom, staring out the window, until the majority of the class left, before going to the cafeteria herself to buy her lunch then sit outside to eat. Today however, two other girls in her class came up to her, one looking rather impatient, the other curious.  
  
"You coming with us or what Rei?"  
  
"To do what?"  
  
Hikari smiled, thinking Rei was joking: "To go eat lunch of course."  
  
Rei turned back to the impatient redhead standing over her, "Are you not going to go eat with Shinji-kun?"  
  
Asuka reared back as if Rei just slapped her across the face, but blushed all the same. "Why would I want to eat with that baka? The fool couldn't even remember how long it's been since we started going out."  
  
Hikari looked thoughtful for a moment, then: "What did he say exactly?"  
  
"What does it matter what he said? The fact that he didn't remember says everything."  
  
"Just tell me." Hikari asked  
  
"Fine. He kinda freaked out when I told him how long we've been dating, and then he tried to say something about not realizing it had been so long."  
  
"And that's it?" Hikari prodded.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much..."  
  
Hikari looked thoughtful for a moment considering what her friend had told her, then: "Have you considered the possibility that he's enjoyed himself so much in your company that he really DIDN'T realize how long you two have been going out?"  
  
Asuka was about to make a biting refusal about that when her friend's words finally sank in. When they had, she just closed her mouth and hung her head slightly.  
  
"Didn't think so..." The Class Rep sighed and shook her head.  
  
Asuka immediately glared at her friend: "What's THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
Rei chose that moment to put her two cents in... "She is merely pointing out that more often than not, you are too selfish, haughty, and stubborn to realize others' feelings before your own."  
  
Both other girls' jaws dropped at their friend's words as they just gaped at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
Normally, Shinji would've been awake and chatting with his friends over the local network, but today, he opted to sleep through class. When the lunch bell rang, he woke with a bit of a start, but calmed himself quickly. Mentally gathering the scattered bits of his mind, Shinji began rummaging through his backpack for the lunches he made earlier.  
  
When he found them, he pulled out the three boxes. He didn't know if this new Asuka still had him make her lunches, but he figured he'd be better off if he made her one whether she wanted it or not. Looking around, he spotted Asuka, Hikari and Rei together, the two former girls staring open-mouthed at the third in some sort of shock as Rei looked questioningly at them.  
  
He got up and walked over to them, figuring that this would be the best time to try to give the girls their lunches without getting beaten to a pulp for interrupting something.  
  
"Um, Asuka? Rei? Here are your lunches if you want them..."  
  
From the look of it, Asuka and Hikari were snapped out of their stares by the boy's interruption, but didn't seem to mind too much. Asuka seemed angry at first, but calmed enough at the prospect of food to not rip his throat out.  
  
After getting their lunches, Asuka practically drug Hikari and Rei out of the classroom behind her attempting to get out of Shinji's presence as Rei thanked Shinji on her way out.  
  
"Yo, Shinji!!! You gonna eat yer lunch or what?"  
  
Even if the people in this world were different from the ones he remembered, he couldn't mistake that voice or tone for any other. Smiling, he realized that if he didn't get to eating his lunch soon, Touji would do it for him.  
  
As he walked back to his desk, he saw that his two friends had set up around it and were munching away at their own lunches.  
  
Without bothering to finish his mouthful, Touji asked the question that was on his mind: "So why's the wife mad at you Shinji?"  
  
Shinji didn't quite catch the comment, but answered it anyway: "I don't know, I think I said something wrong on our way to school..."  
  
After the bespectacled one finished his mouthful, he put his two cents in: "Huh... well it doesn't take much to piss her off to begin with though, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was something small."  
  
"You're probably right... Still I think I should find a way to make it up to her..."  
  
"Hmm... Hey, speaking of making things up to people, how are you going to apologize to Hikari for ogling 3-E's Geography teacher yesterday Touji?"  
  
At this, Touji nearly choked on his food, but managed to swallow it before making his retort: "I don't know what you're talking about... I may have been checking her out, but I see no reason to make it up to Hikari."  
  
Touji's friends' only response to this was to laugh.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Later that afternoon, Shinji and Rei returned home to an empty house. Neither of them were unused to this, so they just went about their business.  
  
However, seeing that this would be a prime opportunity to speak with Shinji about the changes in their friends and colleagues, Rei left her room and patiently made her way down the steps to the foyer and then continued to the kitchen where her 'brother' was working on his homework.  
  
"I believe I have come to a decision about our situation, Ikari-kun."  
  
Startled by her stealthy approach, Shinji jumped a little at her sudden voice, but soon managed to calm down enough to ask her what she meant...  
  
"Um... I don't understand..."  
  
"I believe that the changes in our surroundings are for the better as you observed earlier this morning."  
  
Shinji laughed slightly at this... "Of course you would, Asuka doesn't hate your guts any more... Now both the old and the new Asuka's hate me..."  
  
Rei cocked her head slightly, wondering if he really was as blind as he seemed, or if she was just more perceptive than him.  
  
"I do not believe that Sohryu hates you Ikari-kun."  
  
"And what makes you say that?"  
  
"She seemed rather ashamed at lunch when Hikari-san and I confronted her about it."  
  
This new piece of information hit Shinji like a ton of bricks... ... Well, maybe not a TON of bricks, he'd be dead if that were true, but definitely like he had been hit in the face with A brick...  
  
"She... She did?"  
  
"Yes, I believe she is beginning to feel sorry for not thinking before she reacted."  
  
"Hmm... thanks Rei." Shinji said to his new sister.  
  
"You are welcome... Shinji." And with one nod she turned and went back to her room.  
  
In a rare moment of insight, Shinji realized what had just happened and smiled. Perhaps this little unexpected happening would have some good points after all...  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Later, Shinji had finished his homework, and was preparing dinner for the three of them, when his father came home, apparently exhausted from a full day of work.  
  
"Heya, Shinji, is your sister home?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"No reason, I was just wondering why you're cooking and not her."  
  
This question made Shinji slightly nervous as the wrong answer could possibly give him and Rei away as not being the ones that everyone here knew so well...  
  
"Um... she didn't feel like cooking tonight, so she told me how to make a few things..."  
  
"Huh... alright, that's not very common for her, but I guess it's understandable." Shinji made a mental note to mention to Rei later that she's the main one to cook for the family.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A leisurely dinner followed, after which, Shinji went up to his room to 'catch up on some reading.'  
  
Shinji, after closing the door behind him, sat down on the bed, opened the drawer in the nightstand, and withdrew the journal he had found there the night before. Opening it, he laid back against the headboard of his bed, and began to flip through the pages until he found the first entry in the book that seemed to be about Asuka. He found it about halfway through the entries, and began to read it in earnest...

---------------------

Journal, April 12th, 2009  
  
Today, dad was visited by some people from Germany. I don't really understand what they were talking about when they went to talk in the living-room, but they brought their daughter with them.  
  
She has red hair like her mother, and her name is Asuka. She and Rei became quick friends, giggling as they played up in her room.  
  
Later, she came into my room, wondering what I was doing all by myself. I told her that I liked being alone for a while, but she didn't believe me. She actually came over and drug me out of my bed and into Rei's room to play with them.  
  
I had fun, more fun than I thought I'd have with girls, but I won't lie about it. I think I like this Asuka girl too. While we were playing, she said she'd be around while her parents were here on business, so we'd get to play together a lot.  
  
Bye for now, Shinji Ikari

---------------------

'So, we've known each other since we were children...'  
  
Shinji scouted forward through the entries until he found one that caught his eye.

---------------------

Journal, May 10th 2009  
  
Asuka left today, I hope I'll get to see her again someday. I probably will since our parents seem to be friends.  
  
Rei's really sad about losing her friend, but I think she'll get over it eventually. Dad was telling her that she'd see Asuka again soon, but I don't really think that it'll be soon. Probably not until we're older. At least that's what I think.  
  
Bye for now, Shinji.

---------------------

The next few entries were few and far between before the mass of entries from just recently and didn't really say much of anything other than routine or mundane things.  
  
Of course, they were mostly routine or mundane things that involved Asuka.

---------------------

Journal, July 17th 2015  
  
She's back! I had started to think that she wasn't coming back. I'm glad she's here. I got to see her as she was being transported here from Germany on the USS 'Over the Rainbow'. Apparently, she's the Second Child I've heard so much about since I became the Third Child.  
  
The trip wasn't all fun and games though, an Angel got the idea to attack the convoy we were traveling on. Asuka came up with her own idea to attack the Angel in Eva-02... while at sea! Anyway, I'm not going to get into details since I'd rather not remember them, as they're simply too embarrassing.  
  
Rei was ecstatic when Asuka got back, apparently for good this time. They're out getting reacquainted right now, they invited me to go along, but I figured that they'd enjoy a girls' night out.  
  
Besides, I'm sure we'll be seeing her a lot from now on.  
  
See you, Shinji...

---------------------

'Wow... I never thought I'd hear myself be THAT happy about getting to spend time with Asuka...' Continuing through the journal entries, he reads about happenings during the most recent Angel attacks, and other happenings between them.

---------------------

Journal September 4th, 2015  
  
We almost lost Asuka today, She was fighting the most recent angel inside Mount Asama. Anyway, in order to beat it, she had to tear part of her cooling pipes away and shove them into the angel's mouth. She managed to kill it, but her cable wasn't going to last long enough to get her back to the surface.  
  
Misato ordered me to stay where I was because we couldn't afford to lose two Evas and two pilots. But I jumped in anyway... I couldn't afford to lose her, and I'd be damned if I was going to sit there and let her die. Misato chewed me out later for disobeying her orders, but after Asuka found me, I honestly don't remember much after she smothered me in a hug for what I did for her.  
  
Except... I remember I asked her out at some point between then and now. I just hope I didn't get myself in over my head...  
  
Bye, Shinji...

---------------------

'Hmm... so that's how this whole dating thing got going... Which reminds me...'  
  
Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, Shinji begins writing a letter to Asuka:

---------------------

To Asuka:  
  
I know I messed up yesterday. I'm sorry that I forgot about how long we've been together. I know I hurt you very badly when I said that and I want to make it up to you.  
  
I know this letter is short, and may not sound as sincere as it should, but I've never written a letter like this before. I've never felt I needed to.  
  
If you feel you can let me try to make amends for what I've done, meet me on the roof of the school after classes end.  
  
I'm sorry,  
  
Shinji.

---------------------

With a sigh, Shinji put the pen down and folded up the letter. After a few quick glances around his room, he realized he had no envelopes to put the letter in. Shinji left his room and went downstairs to look for those ever-elusive envelopes.  
  
After finding some which his letter would fit in, he took one, put the rest back, and headed back up to his room. Once there, Shinji neatly stuffed the letter into the envelope, sealed it, and wrote 'To Asuka' on the front of it.  
  
Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was quite late. Before going to bed, he put the letter to Asuka in his backpack along with his laptop and other school supplies. He performed his 'Evening Ritual' and put the journal away before he turned off the lights and got into bed.  
  
TBC...  
  
-----Author's Notes-----  
  
Oi... Even longer than last time... I won't say I'm sorry for this since I'm not. I do not live to write, and therefore, updates to my stories will happen whenever I have free time in which I feel like writing. And this last semester at college was arguably the most tedious and stressful one I've had there. As such, I didn't have much free time to start with, and the free time I did have was spent either sleeping, playing some form of computer game or RPG, or reading other fanfics.  
  
Also, it didn't help that I wrote myself into a corner that I had the hardest time getting out of during that lunch scene. As I stated earlier, this fic already has a fairly well-developed storyline beyond this chapter, but if anyone has a suggestion for how this story could evolve, just send me an e-mail or include the suggestion in a review, and I'll try to get back to you if I'm thinking about using your suggestion to augment my timeline. And please, only serious suggestions... jokes and insults only annoy other readers who want to know what others think about this story and take up space in the reviews area.


	4. Teaser

Okay, Just so everyone understands... This is to show that I AM working on this story still... This is NOT intended to BE chapter 4.

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Deep within the confines of NERV HQ, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi sat at her desk watching page after page of text and data scroll by on her terminal's screen. Ever since the previous morning, she had been trying to figure out how Unit-00 could've lost something as integral as its control systems. Stranger still was the fact that THIS Unit-00 appeared to have been designed for use without those control systems.

Now, as she looked away from the screen briefly to rest her eyes and look at the time, she realized just how long she'd been at this. Her clock read 05:46. 'Has it really taken me this long to get nowhere?'

As she thought this, she returned to the screen showing the design schematics for Unit-00 they had on record next to the scan results from the Unit-00 that was currently stored in the cages. The only difference was the current Eva lacked a small set of control interfaces near its core. Otherwise, the designs were identical.

Just then, an idea occurred to her and she began a high resolution scan of the core's interior…

'What the...'

"Maya!"

A few moments later, the younger technician walked into the office.

"Do we still have the Cross-Phase scanners from the cloaking experiment equipped in the sensor suites?"

Maya looked at Dr. Akagi with a puzzled expression before replying.

"I think they were removed some time last month... Why?"

"It's just a hunch, but if I'm right we could have a major problem. Get some techs to reinstall the sensors in Unit-00 and 01's cages immediately. Then scan both Evas and compare the scans to the ones we have on record."

"Yes Ma'am."

With that, Maya left her Sempai to her work and went to fulfill her orders.


End file.
